It Gets Lonely In Evermore
by DrScribbler
Summary: Following the events of "The Cooler" (season 6: episode 22), Bonni struggles with some issues of morality and ethics. She invites Marceline over to talk things out and - well - fluff ensues. Bubbline.
1. Intro (Please Read)

**Hello! :)  
>Dr Scribbler here.<strong>

**First of all, for any of you following my **_**Adventure Time **_**AU (Life & Times In Advent Tides), it **_**will **_**be finished before Christmas.  
>Just bear with me – and consider this oneshot to be something to tide you over for the moment. :)<br>(Heh-heh, "****tide**** you over?" "Advent ****Tides****" Oh man, I'm hilarious :P)**

**So anyway, I had this idea for a oneshot after watching "The Cooler" episode.  
>I just thought the episode contained so much subtext for Bubbline and wanted to outline in it in my own little tale.<strong>

**However, I'm also taking this opportunity to experiment with developing new themes and motifs in my writing.  
>Within this particular oneshot, I'm trying to work with the idea of warm and cold as a literary pattern – I'd appreciate if you could tell me how well I did with it in the reviews. :)<strong>

**As for the oneshot itself, I have an idea for four chapters but it might just be perfect at two.  
>Let me know anyway and I'll either leave it as is or extend it accordingly!<strong>

**Thanks for reading peeps, hope you enjoy the story! ^_^**

**Your friend,  
>DrScribbler<strong>


	2. Chapter I

The dark sky stretched out as an endless, starless blanket up above.  
>A slight wind propelled a few scattering leaves over the ground but mostly it was still. And quiet. And somewhat lonesome.<br>From a lone balcony high above the Candy Kingdom, Bubblegum stared out at the darkness and shivered slightly against the cold night.  
>In her head, Flame Princess' voice still echoed.<br>_You're cold PB. And it's not because you're a scientist or a leader.  
><em>She shut her eyes against the next few words, almost as if it was a physical onslaught and not just a loud memory.  
><em>It's because you're a bad person.<br>_Bubblegum opened them again, swallowed and gripped the balcony railing a little harder, suddenly feeling like she wasn't quite able to stand upright on her own.  
>What if Flame Princess was right?<br>What if there was truth in those words?  
>After all, the fact that she had revealed her first name (Phoebe) to her <em>after <em>the remark made it seem like the statement hadn't come from anger and upset.  
>It had been calmly commented. Thought out. Considered.<br>Bubblegum shivered against the freezing night air again and retreated into her bed chamber, rubbing her own arms for warmth.  
>She closed the heavy doors behind her, shutting out the night, but not quite shutting out the thoughts that encircled her brain.<br>She had unplugged the surveillance cameras. That _proved _she wasn't a bad person, right? Right?  
>She couldn't convince herself. And as Bubblegum turned slowly around to face her bed, she was suddenly struck by the vastness of the room.<br>No, more than that. She was struck by the vastness of Ooo. Of her doubt. Of her own life.  
>She sank down on the edge of her bed, head bowed.<br>But most of all, she was struck by the vast feeling of loneliness inside her.

Marceline didn't wasn't bothered by the icy night all that much.  
>The heat was what usually got to her.<br>But the cold? Nah, not so much.  
>Plus, sitting up high in the branches of one of the redwood trees near the Candy Kingdom gave her a sense of peace. Being elevated above everyone and everything else made her feel like nothing down there mattered for the moment.<br>It was all just ... in pause mode.  
>It was unexpected when her phone buzzed in her pocket. Even more unexpected was what the message said and who it was from at this late hour.<br>_You awake? – B_

"I don't think there are bad people," Marceline was saying, about an hour later.  
>Her voice echoed off the walls of Bubblegum's bed chamber as she repeated the words she'd said to Lumpy Space Princess only a few months before in the summer.<p>

"I think good people do bad stuff sometimes and _that's _bad. But if you only do it once? Then it's a mistake, and _that's _not bad."

Marceline sat cross-legged on the bed, jet black mane tumbling all around her, wrists resting casually on her knees.  
>Bubblegum was sitting a few paces away, looking fairly unconvinced.<p>

"But if you _know _what you're doing is bad, does that still count as a mistake?"

Marceline just gave a laid-back shrug.

"It's not all black and white Bonni, there's a lot hiding in the greys."

Bubblegum only nodded, still seeming uncertain.

At the frontline of the vampire's emotions, at the very top of her priorities list at that minute was a keen desire to help Bonni, to find a way to comfort her and make her feel better about this whole convoluted (and pretty weird) situation.  
>But somewhere at the back of her mind, she couldn't help but marvel at how beautiful the Candy Kingdom's ruler was.<br>Everything from the sweet look of her face to the flawless way her hair tumbled was worth admiring.  
>And somewhere under all the sympathy and concern she felt for Bubblegum at that moment, Marceline admired it.<br>Even in her sadness, Bonnibel was beautiful.

Bubblegum seemed lost in thought for a moment, her face gathering more worry as the seconds ticked by.

"Look dude," Marceline broke the silence. "You're like me. After a few centuries, you're bound to lose track of your moral code, it's only natural. We've done so much Bonni. I don't know about you but sometimes it feels like the same thing over and over again. So what if we choose a different, not-so-ethical path once in a while?" she let out a small chuckle, "Immortality would be just one, long bland journey otherwise!"

Bubblegum nodded again, but now she seemed more doubtful than ever. She wasn't even looking at Marceline now, she was staring straight ahead as if the answers to her questions were written on the far wall.  
>The vampire sighed and tried again.<p>

"It's not easy Bon," she said. "This whole 'live forever' shtick. People assume it's fun and liberating and all about having as much time to do as much as you want. But it's not. It's a lot of pressure to be given everlasting life and expected to do something worthwhile with it. Pressure from others, pressure from yourself. Don't get me wrong now, I'm grateful for it, but evermore is a long, long time. It gets cold. And it gets lonely."

"Yeah," Bubblegum agreed almost automatically, and then turned back to face her friend. "It _does _get lonely, huh?"

Marceline let out a small, tense laugh in response.

"_Oh _yeah!"

Even the sound of Marceline's _nervous_ chuckling was enough to make Bubblegum smile.

"Thanks Marceline."

The vampire smiled warmly in return.

"Don't mention it Bonni," she paused, thought for a moment, and then went on. "And by the way, you're doing a lot better than me at this whole eternity thing. You have a degree in glycomics, you do all these crazy awesome science experiments, you maintain democracy in the entire land of Ooo, you've invented medicines and cures to help people, you have an entire _kingdom_ that loves you and that _you'd_ do anything for in return. If you mess up once in a while, so what? It's bound to happen in a life with so many achievements dude."

Bubblegum blinked at Marceline, then stared at her for open-mouthed a long moment, taken aback by the thoughtfulness of the words.

"Wow," she said at last, and then smiled kindly. "That was really sweet Marceline."

The vampire just shrugged.

"It's true Peebs. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. We all make mistakes."

The candy princess continued smiling, clearly touched by the words.

"You know, you've done a lot as well Marcy," she said after a moment. "The Scream Queens, your work in the Nightosphere, stopping your dad from wreaking havoc. Heck, you are the Vampire _Queen_ after all!"

But Marceline didn't look as moved by this list of her achievements as Bubblegum was of hers.  
>In fact, she looked a little disappointed.<p>

"Yeah but my mistakes have been bigger than a lot of that stuff," she said quietly. "I've caused a lot of pain for a lot of people."

"No, you haven't!" Bubblegum said at once. "And even if you have, so what? You're the one who popularised drinking shades of red instead of actual blood for vampires. You've saved a lot of lives with that Marceline!"

The vampire just shrugged again, looking uncomfortable now, and got up from the bed.

"Yeah, maybe," she said, beginning to wander aimlessly around the room. "But I've done a lot of bad too. Like, even when I kicked Finn and Jake out of their home that time," she let out another nervous laugh, "The complete truth is that I did that for fun. I knew it was mean and unfair and excessive, I _knew _that but I still did it. Probably 'cos I was bored. You do bad things because you're always looking for new ways to help your subjects. I do bad things because I'm _bored_. What does that say about me?"

A short silence followed these words as Marceline kept pacing at a slow tempo, kicking out the tip of her boots to lengthen each step.

"But that was so long ago," Bubblegum said at last. "You're Finn and Jake's _friend _now, they love you. Everyone loves you."

Marceline glanced up quickly at these words, waited as if Bubblegum was going to say more, but then looked back down at her feet and sighed.

"Maybe," she said slowly. "But I still mess up a lot dude. I know I said I don't believe in bad people, and I don't, but for a good person, I do a lot of bad things."

"They're never out of spite though," Bubblegum was quick to point out. "You do them because you're bored or in a pranking mood or looking for some fun. You don't do anything to be cruel."

Marceline stopped pacing, made eye contact with Bubblegum.

"You think so?"

Bubblegum smiled.

"I _know_ you Marcy. You're not a bad person."

Marceline smiled too, seemed to gain a bit more confidence in herself, nodded.

"Yeah...yeah, thanks Bonni," then she stopped, laughed again. "Dude, I can't believe this started as me coming over to give _you _a confidence boost."

Bubblegum rose from the bed and approached her long-time friend.

"You did," she said as she enfolded Marceline in a warm hug. "Cheering _you _up cheered me up too. Thanks dude."

Marceline hugged her back, surreptitiously enjoying the sweet strawberry-esque smell of the princess' hair.

"Anytime Bon."

The hug lasted a little longer than it would for most friends – even close, affectionate friends – but that was normal for the two of them.  
>When they did break apart, Bubblegum looked up at the slightly taller girl and smiled again.<br>Marceline returned the happy gesture but then her face fell slightly.

"So I guess...um...I should be heading home then?"

"No, stay."

Bubblegum's words came out so abruptly that both women were a little stunned by them.

"I mean...I just kind of don't want to sleep alone tonight," the princess said apologetically. "Do you want to stay the night?"

Marceline smiled down at the pink-haired girl, wondering if Bubblegum knew how much her words meant to her too.

"Sure thing."


	3. Chapter II

About half an hour later, Bubblegum slipped into bed next to Marceline, in an old pink T-shirt and matching pyjama bottoms.  
>She could feel Marceline's eyes on the T-shirt, and knew she was wondering where the rock shirt had gone.<br>But she wasn't ready to reveal that story. Not yet.  
>As Bubblegum slipped beneath the covers, the vampire's eyes were torn away, and the princess took the opportunity to further distance her thoughts from the subject of the rock shirt.<p>

"Are you sure you're warm enough in that?"

Marceline glanced down at her own sleeveless T-shirt and charcoal pyjama bottoms. They were nightclothes leftover from one of the times the vampire had slept in this bed before, an unknown amount of time ago.  
>Bubblegum had left them carefully folded in her wardrobe this whole time – another fact the two girls both carefully ignored.<p>

"Yeah, they're perfect," the vampire replied. "Don't worry dude."

Bubblegum smiled and clicked the bedside lamp off, plunging the room into darkness.

"Do you have everything you need?" she asked Marceline.

"Yeah, absolutely. Don't sweat it Bon. Just get some sleep, you've had a long day."

Moved by Marceline's thoughtfulness, Bubblegum turned away from her so that she wouldn't see how big her smile was.

"OK. Goodnight Marceline."

"Night B-Bubs."

The princess settled down in the soft bedclothes and was suddenly struck by how cold the bed really was.  
>Regretting the fact that she hadn't asked Peppermint Butler for a hot water bottle, Bubblegum sighed repentantly as she tried to find some warmth by clutching the covers around her.<p>

It was then that she felt Marceline's arms wrap around her middle, the vampire's legs moving up to form a type of seat for the candy ruler's bottom.  
>For a moment, Bubblegum didn't react.<br>Then Marceline spoke, and her voice was so close to her ear that the princess felt a sweet chill go up her spine.

"Is this alright? You seemed cold."  
>Her voice seemed fearful, as if scared that this was too forward.<p>

To assure her otherwise, Bubblegum clasped Marceline's hands in her own and rubbed her fingers up the length of one of her arms affectionately.

"Yeah, it's perfect," she replied. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

Marceline rested her head on Bubblegum's shoulder, enjoying the closeness.  
>At times like this, the loneliness of eternity didn't seem so immense and dark and daunting.<br>At times like this, with the sweet weight of the princess against her, Marceline felt OK about everlasting life.  
>In fact, with Bubblegum nearby, the vampire felt OK about most things.<br>Actually, she felt great.

The two women drifted to sleep around the same time, both cherishing the intimacy of holding and being held.

Bubblegum walked briskly through the Fire Kingdom, gripping a small bundle against her chest.  
>She felt desperate – anxious – completely <em>frantic<em> as she roved through the empire, urgently looking for someone that could help.  
>But everyone she approached moved away in disgust, turned their faces from her, scoffed and then walked off.<br>Eventually, up ahead, she caught sight of Flame Princess herself.  
>Unlike the others, she was looking straight at Bubblegum – calmly, coolly - almost as if she was waiting for her.<br>As she got closer to Flame Princess, Bubblegum found it harder to walk, she stumbled along, staggering over the length of the long grey dress she was wearing.  
>"Flame Princess!" she called out as she got closer. "Help!"<br>"I can't," she replied in a calm voice. "Look what you've done PB. Are you going to tell me _now_ that you're not a bad person?"  
>Bubblegum stopped, looked down at the bundle in her arms and realized what it was.<br>It was a baby flame person – but he/she was dead.  
>Cold. Lifeless. Dead in Bubblegum's arms.<br>And the candy princess screamed. And screamed. And screamed.

"_Bonni_!"

Bubblegum's eyes snapped open and Marceline's face came into focus in front of her.  
>She gasped and looked around.<br>She was sitting up in the bed, cradled in Marceline's arms. The vampire seemed to have pulled her into an upright position...probably when she started screaming because of the -

"Dream," she said out loud. "It was just a dream..."

"Yeah," Marceline said. "And it must have been a pretty bad one. You were screaming as if your were being dragged to the gallows!"

Bubblegum nodded, a lump forming in her throat at the memory of the dead baby in her arms.

"Hey," the vampire said gently, and pulled the princess into a tight hug. "Everything's fine. It was just a crazy dream, you're OK."

Bubblegum turned around to face Marceline and, somewhere behind the adrenaline of the moment, she was moved by how concerned the vampire looked for her.  
>She moved forward slightly, closing in the short space between their faces, and briefly pressed her lips to the other girl's.<p>

"Thank you," she said. "I'm glad you were here."

Marceline blushed and her eyes widened.

"Uh...yeah. Um. Sure. Yeah. No problem Bonni!"

Bubblegum smiled at her.

"You know, you don't have to stay the rest of the night if you don't want to. I understand if you want to sleep without being interrupted by random screaming!"

Bubblegum let out a brief exhale of laughter and Marceline followed suit, seeming to regain some composure after the kiss, and giving the princess another squeeze as they laughed together.

"No, it's fine," Marceline said. "I have nothing to do tomorrow so I don't need to get up early. And I'd – uh – I'd rather be here with you anyway."

Smiling at the implication of these words, Bubblegum lay back down in the bed and Marceline almost automatically fit around her, slipping her arms and legs snugly around the princess.

"Are you OK?" Marceline asked.

"Yeah," Bubblegum said, closing her eyes. "Thanks Marcy."

The vampire hesitated for a moment, then leaned in and kissed the princess' neck.  
>Bubblegum turned to face her, a quizzical expression etched on her features, and Marceline read this as a sign that she should back off.<br>But when she tried to pull her head away, Bubblegum put a hand to her cheek and gently guided her back until their lips met in one long, warm kiss.  
>When they broke apart, they made eye contact and something communicated in that moment made them both know it was OK to lean in again.<br>And again. And again.  
>Then Marceline nuzzled into the princess' neck and Bubblegum wrapped her arms around the vampire, pulling her in closer.<p>

Both of them tried to think of something to say but the words didn't come.  
>It only took a few moments to realize that words weren't needed.<br>It wasn't long after that when both women fell to dreams, happy and secure in each other's arms.


End file.
